Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Off the Needles

As many of you know I've been struck by the unemployment plague that has been affecting our country, but I, being an obsessed knitter, am making very good use of my time, while not searching the internets for my future career, of course. If only a career in knitting could provide me with health insurance benefits. Oh, wouldn't that be nice?

My lace shawl knitting group class is this Saturday and we will be knitting the lovely Ishbel shawl designed by Ysolda Teague. I knit mine up in Noro Silk Garden Sock and am so pleased with the way the colors emerged in this pattern. I usually knit lace with a solid or semi-solid colored yarn so the lace pattern doesn't have to complete with the yarn, but in this case I think the yarn and lace pattern work really well together.

Last February at Stitches West, the generous folks at Malabrigo (thank you Antonio) gave me a lovely sample of Dos yarn. It is a beautiful shade of teal in a sock weight merino. I decided to knit a cozy for my new Kindle with it. The yarn is so soft and has a wonderful twist that makes for great stitch definition. My Kindle is very pleased, indeed!

Not long ago, a new yarn store opened in Sebastopol called Yarnitudes. I was most excited about it because the store was going to not only cater to knitters, but to spinners as well. They sell all kinds of fiber and spinning supplies which is something Sonoma County has had a need for. On a recent trip to the store on a mission to find some new colors of Malabrigo Sock yarn, I found only one skein that had to come home with me. Lately, I've been using this yarn to knit up lace shawls, but this bright pink skein screamed "socks" much more that "shawl" to me. I hadn't knit a pair of socks in quite some time and was dieing to try one of Cookie A's intricate patterns.

Here is my pair of hot pink (Light of Love colorway) Kai Mei socks:

Now, back to my lace shawl knitting, I have been working my way through Romi Hill's "7 Small Shawls" ebook of patterns. I've recently finished two very lovely pieces. Rosemary writes a heck of a pattern, I must say. I have really enjoyed knitting these shawls, and look forward to knitting many more.

Here is Merope, knit up in a new Valley Yarn called Charlemont:

And last, but certainly not least, is my favorite of all, is my Jack White Taygete, knit up in Ravelry Red Malabrigo Sock and Cascade Heritage in Black. I cannot wait until the weather allows me to wear these new shawls.

About Me

Thumbtack.com

I am a passionate knitter who loves to teach others to knit and crochet. I have been knitting and crocheting for many years, and have all kinds of knitting and crocheting tips and tricks to share with my...